


Home

by Brothaigh



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AU, Home, M/M, coming home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:42:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23871796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brothaigh/pseuds/Brothaigh
Summary: AU in which the Foxes grew up together, Neil left in high school, now he's back.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 3
Kudos: 193





	Home

He stood in front of the house, his fingers itched and told him to run. The porch light was on. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the window. _How was he supposed to knock?_ He knew how to knock, he'd make a fist and tap it against the door three times, but first, he'd have to get to the door. _Everything in him was begging him to run._ But he stood, he stayed, and he watched as the table filled. He couldn't really make out faces, and it had been so many years. _What if they had all changed?_

It didn't matter. The low rumble of a car coming to an idle behind him told him that he didn't have a choice. He either had to face his fear and go to the door or face whoever got out of the car, an equally dangerous fear. He lifted his cigarette to his mouth and took a drag, it had almost burnt out, then dropped it and ground it into the dirt beneath his feet. He brought one hand up to push the hood off his head and he heard the car's engine die. It was now or never.

He stepped forward, one foot after the other. The closer he got to the porch, the more his body screamed to run. _Run. Run. Run._ His heart pounded in his chest and he could hear footsteps on the pavement. He had to run a hand through his hair, it had grown out, it was tinted brown now at the ends but the majority was a ruddy color. He took a shaky breath when he reached the door. He put his palm against it first, then pulled his hand back to make a fist. He knocked.

His tongue felt like lead in his mouth, his legs felt like jelly. He couldn't run now, not even if he decided to. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The person who had followed him to the door had stopped when they reached the porch's creaky steps. He couldn't turn around to look if he wanted to, the possibilities were too overwhelming. It took the sound of the door creaking open to make his eyes open. He swallowed, the man in front of him looked older than he should have.

"Yes?"

The man didn't recognize him. _He couldn't blame him._ His face was mutilated and everything was different. It had been years.

"I needed..." He didn't know what he needed, he wanted to apologize, but the words wouldn't come out right. "I need to say goodbye."

The man looked like his mind was doing backflips, like he was trying to place his face.

"It's been a while."

The man's eyes finally went wide.

"Neil."

Neil swallowed, the man had gone grey but he still had the kind face he'd remembered. Neil nodded. Something clattered behind him. The man in front of him looked as surprised as Neil felt, but Neil didn't dare to turn around. He bit his tongue and squeezed his eyes shut. It was the tip of a knife pressed against the small of his back that told him who had followed him up. Even when they were kids, Andrew had loved the blades. They'd been his solace until David had taken him in, the only thing that had kept Andrew here.

Neil took a slow breath, Wymack didn't leave the doorway, and Andrew's breath was loud and shaky.

Finally, the tension was broken. It must have been Abby, but someone shouted from the dining room.

"Who's at the door, David?"

Wymack didn't answer and suddenly a man easily a head taller than him was at the door. Neil swallowed. He wanted to run more than he wanted to live.

"I'll be in in a minute, David. Go sit down, Matthew."

Andrew was commanding, Wymack and Matt both listened without hesitation and suddenly Neil was staring at a closed door. And then he was pressed up against it.

"Turn around."

The knife finally left Neil's back and Andrew's hand left his shoulder. Neil hesitated to turn around but knew that Andrew wouldn't hesitate if he didn't respond. So he turned. And there was Andrew, staring at him like he'd seen a ghost. Neil's stomach was tight, Andrew was still Andrew. _Andrew he'd had to leave behind when he and his mother went on the run. Andrew who he didn't think would ever forgive him._ Andrew's expression was cold, calculating.

"I hate you."

Andrew was still the same. This was how he'd been in eighth grade, when Neil had caught him under an oak tree saving a bee that had lost a wing. The next day, he'd pushed Neil against the same tree and kissed him. In ninth, _I hate you_ was all Andrew would say when Neil asked him to dances and on dates. Andrew had always shown up. Neil swallowed.

"I know."

Andrew's jaw was set and he was an arm's length away from Neil. Neil could still see the calculation in his eyes.

"I hate you."

Andrew's voice broke, but Neil wasn't going to say anything. It was the same crack he'd heard in tenth grade when Andrew found out he had a twin, Aaron, but that the twin didn't want to know him. The same he imagined Andrew spoke with the summer after tenth grade, when Neil hadn't had the chance to say goodbye.

"I know."

Neil couldn't look away from Andrew. Six years had gone by, six years where the blond was constantly on his mind.

"You are nothing."

Andrew's words were shaky, but he'd never admit it.

"I know."

Neil knew that Andrew could have gone to college. Andrew was smart. Wymack had taken him in during grade school and raised him right. He was traumatized, but he was smarter than anyone Neil had known then or knew now.

"You are a pipe dream."

Neil's eyes finally closed and he could hear Andrew step closer.

"I am here."

It was the hand on his throat that told Neil that Andrew was still paying attention. Several moments had passed in silence.

"I hate you."

Andrew's fingers were on Neil's face. They traced the scars - burns and deep cuts - as though he was trying to memorize them. Every moment that passed made Neil's heart slow a little more. There was no need to run. Eventually, Andrew forced Neil's sleeves up. Neil shuddered. Only Andrew had ever touched him with such care.

"I know."

Andrew finally pulled Neil's sleeves down, Neil kept his eyes shut. He didn't know if he could bring himself look Andrew in the eye.

"Yes or no?"

Neil swallowed, then answered.

"Yes."

Andrew's hand found the back of Neil's neck and pulled him down. Their lips met and Neil tasted cigarette smoke and home.


End file.
